STE: Movie Night Showdown
by ZenosParadox
Summary: RS friendship, Ma. Hoshi has a date on Movie Nightbut not with Malcolm.


Title: Movie Night Showdown  
  
Author: ZenosParadox  
  
Rating: G  
  
Summary: RS friendship, Ma. Hoshi has a movie date--but not with Malcolm.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. Except for Tank; he's generic. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.  
  
MOVIE NIGHT  
  
Travis Mayweather entered the room to find Lieutenant Malcolm Reed standing at the back of the room. He appeared to be scanning the gathering crowd.  
  
"Hey, Malcolm! I thought you said you weren't going to waste your time on Movie Night anymore. What changed your mind?" Mayweather got no response, so he added, "Are you looking for someone?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, Travis, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. You were saying?" responded Reed, still looking very preoccupied. Mayweather noticed that despite the fact that the movie had not started, Reed was speaking just above a whisper.  
  
"So, are you waiting for someone?" asked Mayweather as he decided to take a different line with his questions.   
  
At that moment, Ensign Hoshi Sato entered with her date for the night, Ensign Thomas 'The Tank' Elgin. The two looked incongruous given the Tank was nearly twice the size of Hoshi. Tank Elgin was tall, blonde and heavily muscled. Travis had heard the women swooning over this Greek Adonis in the mess hall when their mission had begun, although not much was said lately. Tank evidently had the brains to wrangle a date out of Hoshi, although the man was not known for mental capacity.  
  
For her part, Hoshi had mentioned to Travis that she liked to interact with non-bridge crew socially. She saw it as a refreshing change from the 'Big Brothers' on the bridge crew she worked with daily. Hoshi made sure she was never seen with any one crewman too frequently, though, and she didn't say yes to just anyone.  
  
As Hoshi and Tank found their seats, Travis noticed that Reed was staring intently at the two. So, that's where his mind is at, thought Travis. I never realized Malcolm had developed a thing for Hoshi! Poor guy, why doesn't he ask her out himself? Wonder if Malcolm is jealous?  
  
Travis suddenly saw a change in expression on Reed's face as Tank put his arm across the back of Hoshi's chair. Reed's eyes had narrowed and a dangerous glint came into them, as if a wolf had just found its prey.   
  
"Excuse me, Travis," was all Reed said as he pushed forward, heading directly to the seats behind Hoshi and Tank.   
  
Travis decided to follow, wondering what he could do to rein in Malcolm. The Lieutenant looked like a coil ready to spring, but this jealous behavior was so unexpected from the cool Armory Officer.  
  
Was Malcolm so head-over-heels on Hoshi that he would provoke Tank openly? In a crowded room? Tank had more mass than the wiry Lieutenant. Travis thought he'd provide Malcolm some backup if he couldn't diffuse the situation.   
  
Then Travis noticed something that disturbed him further. Reed was carrying a weapon! Travis put an arm out to touch Reed on the shoulder and said, "Don't do it, Malcolm."  
  
"I have to. Now just stay out of the way," replied Reed immediately.   
  
Travis was relieved when Reed merely sat behind Hoshi and Tank, so Travis took the seat to Reed's left. He noticed that the room was beginning to get crowded as the crew gathered for the movie.  
  
For his part, Reed appeared to be very interested in how close Tank sat to Hoshi, peering across either shoulder, even looking between the legs of their chairs. Then Tank lowered his hand onto Hoshi's shoulder.  
  
"Excuse me, do you mind?" said Reed, tapping Tank on the shoulder connected to the offending hand, looking like he needed to peer at the area blocked by the beefy limb.   
  
Tank swiveled his head but failed to register that it was the Armory Officer making the request and said, "Beat it, buddy."  
  
Hoshi, however, had registered the familiar voice and turned around to see what was wrong. At the sight of Malcolm a big smile came to her face, surprising Tank in its enthusiasm.  
  
"Just couldn't stay away?" asked Hoshi directly at the man who was pestering them.  
  
Tank looked from Hoshi's smile to the intent look Reed threw her way. This just wasn't right, worked Tank's brain, trying very hard to create a coherent thought. She's my date! What's she doing smiling so brightly at this short guy?  
  
"There's something here I just couldn't resist," said Malcolm, the clipped notes of his accent being very distinct as he gave a quick smile to Hoshi.  
  
Tank's brain registered that there should be something significant about that accent, but failed to understand who he was about to confront. So, flexing his muscles, Tank turned around fully, ready to get rid of the little punk who was messing with his girl.  
  
"Hey, buddy, go find your own girl," began Tank.  
  
"What did you say?" asked Hoshi in an incredulous voice.  
  
"I'm just telling this little punk to quit hitting on my girl," said Tank, not quite understanding what he had done wrong. Shouldn't Hoshi be upset with the little English guy interrupting their date or worse, trying to pick her up?  
  
Hoshi rolled her eyes, finally understanding why Tank had become known as a one-date-wonder. Fine. She'd stay out of it and just see what happened. They were big boys and could take care of themselves--or not!  
  
Reed's attention had finally shifted to the situation at hand. Was the man with Hoshi trying to provoke him? Really, this was just so inconvenient!  
  
"I don't believe we've met. Malcolm Reed," said the Lieutenant, hoping to diffuse the situation so he could get back to his pursuit. Reed now stood to offer his hand, then immediately leaned forward, looking as if he were giving Hoshi the once-over, with particular interest in her legs, exposed as they were by the skirt she wore.   
  
Hoshi just sat quietly, having closed her eyes in disgust at Tank's behavior. She was making plans to ditch Tank as soon as the movie was over. Any man aboard ship who couldn't recognize the Armory Officer when he saw him wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, as Trip would say. She was also quite offended at this "my girl" attitude Tank was spewing. She began going through her list of excuses on which to end a date and ensure there would be no follow-up.  
  
In the meantime, Tank's little brain was working overtime, trying very hard to connect the dots between short guy, English accent, Malcolm Reed, but churned to a stop due to information overload. It was much easier to stick with the 'guy-hitting-on-my-girl' thought.  
  
So, Tank took the Lieutenant's proffered hand and gave it a strong tug. Reed automatically stabilized his center of gravity and responded by stiffening his wrist and arm. With a quick flick, he sent the bigger man tumbling backwards with a loud thud as he took chairs and the people in them down with him.  
  
Reed immediately moved to grab Hoshi to him by her waist, literally lifting her out of her chair with his left arm, sending her chair tumbling. Reed drew her against him as he took the phase pistol with his right hand and aimed it in Tank's direction. Travis, who had been sitting beside Reed, was too stunned to move.  
  
From his position on the floor, Tank looked up. Tank's brain registered Reed's actions in slow motion, but the final dot was finally connected: short guy, English accent, Malcolm Reed, phase pistol,ARMORY OFFICER!   
  
All Tank could do was lay there with a stunned look on his face as he saw Lieutenant Reed standing over him, pistol pointed, with Hoshi grasped possessively to him. Tank closed his eyes thinking, "I'll never mess with short, English guys again!" and waited for the stun. Reed fired.  
  
Hoshi had been thinking of ways to let Tank down easily after the movie, but now it appeared Malcolm had saved her the trouble. Tank was on the floor unconscious. Hoshi could only wonder at what had possessed this rather jealous intervention on Malcolm's part. It was scary but exhilarating.  
  
"It's over," the Lieutenant said in a satisfied voice before turning to look at Hoshi. "Are you alright? You weren't hurt by the beast, were you?"  
  
"What? No, Malcolm, really, he may be dumb as a brick, but he didn't hurt me."   
  
"Not the dimwit, the bat! Phlox's bat got out and I tracked it here. I didn't want to start a panic so I just kept an eye on it until I could get close enough to stun it," Reed said, pointing to the stunned bat on the floor beside Tank with its little bat wings held twitching above its immobile body. Hoshi had to lean over to see it since Tank's massive body blocked her view.   
  
There was a loud, collective gasp in the room as the rest of the crew took note of the bat. At this point Malcolm and Hoshi looked out at the crowd, looked down at their arms still around each other's waists, and abruptly extracted themselves from this prolonged embrace, a blush appearing on both of their faces simultaneously.   
  
"Oh, the poor thing!" said Hoshi, leaving Reed's side to gush over the bat. In the meantime Reed had given the rest a look that clearly said 'go back to your own business.'   
  
Hoshi knelt on the floor and gently picked up the unconscious, fuzzy bundle and asked, "She will be alright, won't she?"  
  
"Don't worry. I adjusted the charge on the pistol to accommodate its small size. We just need to get it, um, her back to sickbay," said Reed, now kneeling beside Hoshi and gently tapping one of the wings to ensure the bat indeed was no longer a threat.  
  
Travis then came up to Tank's unconscious form. "So, what happened to him? You didn't stun him; I only saw one shot."  
  
In truth Tank had passed out when the Lieutenant had taken aim as his brain shut down in disgust.   
  
"Vasovagal syncope, I believe," Reed said with a half-smile. "He fainted."  
  
"Don't worry about Tank," said Travis, already dragging the inert form by the shoulders to a place by the wall as the crowd around them repositioned the seats. "You guys get the bat back to its home in med bay. I'll wake Tank up."   
  
As Hoshi and Malcolm turned to exit, Travis was already starting to slap some sense into Tank's inert form saying, "Hey, wake up. Tank!"   
  
"Wu, huh?" was all Tank managed to say.  
  
"You don't look so good, man. Why don't you go lie down in your quarters," Travis suggested.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Right. Oh, but what about Hoshi?" said Tank, his brain remarkably remembering he had come in with someone.   
  
"Don't worry, she's in good hands. Now, go on," said Travis as he helped Tank stand up and sent him on his way.   
  
-----  
  
  
  
"I can't thank you enough, Lieutenant. Luckily my bat had just fed so she posed minimal threat to the crew, but you never know when she might have become interested in a between-meal snack," said Dr. Phlox with his usual smile.  
  
"It's a good thing you had immobilized her wings during your test, Doctor. As it was the bat was waddling through the vents and just sort of dropped into movie night."  
  
"She will be all right?" asked Hoshi with concern.  
  
"I'm sure she'll recover from her adventure. I never expected her to fly into the vent before the paralytic agent took effect. She comes from strong stock." The good doctor carried the bat to a table to begin reversing the effects of the stun, leaving Malcolm and Hoshi to face each other.  
  
Malcolm turned to Hoshi, not quite sure how to put it into words. "I'm sorry for disrupting your date--" he began, knowing he sounded insincere.  
  
"I'm not. I only went out with Tank because he works in hydroponics and kept pestering me for a date every time I went to collect some herbs for my cooking. I thought I'd say yes just this once so that what I needed would be healthy and available. But, Tank kept calling me his 'girl' and 'babe' all through dinner. And he even referred to the movie tonight as 'cartoons!' Can you imagine? Allegro non Tropo, the parody of Fantasia, labeled as nothing but cartoons?"  
  
"Is that what's playing tonight? The animation film festival? It has a clip with the evolution of life on earth presented against Ravel's Bolero?"  
  
"That's the one. It sounds like you know it," said Hoshi, deciding quickly how to recover something from this night. "Look, since you're feeling so guilty about breaking up my date, why don't you join me? Consider it your penance. We've only missed a little of it."  
  
"Very well. Ensign Sato, may I escort you to Movie Night," said Malcolm, offering Hoshi his arm in a gallant, old-fashioned gesture.  
  
"Certainly, Lieutenant Reed," said Hoshi with a smile as she threaded her arm through his. They began to walk back to the movie. "I'm glad you've found something you like on Movie Night."  
  
Malcolm chuckled. "Well, to tell the truth, my favorite clip in it is Bambi Meets Godzilla. That little flick of the toenail just does it for me..."  
  
Back in sickbay, the little bat twitched her wing, relieved to be back in her home.  
  
*****  
  
Author Notes:  
  
Written in April? 2002 and posted at LD as Movie Night, 6 p. Allegro Non Tropo is a real movie, an anthology of animated short films made way back, Seventies at least.   
  
No reviews are necessary. Thanks for taking the time to read. 


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